Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to share the story of Miguel from Salem, Oregon, and to once again urge Republican leadership to put aside partisan politics and include a clean Dream Act in this week's short-term budget extension.

Miguel was brought to the United States when he was 7 years old by his parents. For years, he lived in the shadows, not knowing whether college would ever be an option for him. In 2012, Miguel, along with nearly 800,000 young folks in this country, was able to apply for DACA; and thanks to DACA, he was able to earn not one, but two bachelor's degrees. He now works as a human resource manager for a business in Salem.

Miguel pays taxes and he contributes to our community. Miguel's future is uncertain due to the congressional Republican leadership's unwillingness to allow a vote on the Dream Act.

Every day, another 122 DACA recipients like Miguel lose their legal protections that allow them to go to school and to work. It is inhumane that Congress continues to hold these young folks hostage for partisan political purposes.

Let's do the right thing. Let's get a clean Dream Act passed so this country can move forward.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share Fabiola's story and continue to demand a vote on the Dream Act.

Fabiola and her family moved to Oregon when she was just 6 years old. When DACA was announced, it gave her the strength to come out of the shadows and pursue her goals. She earned a driver's license, took out a loan for a car, got a job, and started working towards an associate's degree in early childhood education.

Fabiola currently works as a bilingual preschool teacher for Early Head Start and will soon earn her bachelor's degree in early childhood education, focused on special education, from Western Oregon University.

DACA has given Fabiola the opportunity to make her dream of becoming a special needs teacher a reality. Because leadership in Congress refuses to act on DACA, however, she will lose her status, and Fabiola will not be allowed to maintain her teaching license.

Every day, 122 DACA recipients lose their ability to have a job and go to school. We don't have until March 15. It is happening now.

Stop delaying. It is time to get it done. Let's include a clean Dream Act in next week's funding package.

Mr. Speaker, how do you make a bad, partisan tax bill better? For my Republican colleagues, apparently that means cutting tax rates for the wealthy even more than the original bill, as we have heard over the last couple days.

Where is the fairness for average, hardworking Americans?

Medical expenses are no longer deductible.

Student loans and tuition waivers are no longer deductible.

Interest is not deductible for families, but it is for business.

The mortgage interest deduction is reduced.

State and local taxes are not fully deductible.

Small businesses don't get the same tax cuts that big businesses do.

No help for capital gains.

No help for dividends, advertising, or entertaining.

Other business expense is no longer deductible.

Renewable energy tax credits go away.

Private activity bonds that help veterans and many others are also gone.

Worst of all, individual tax cuts flip back and are rescinded in a few years, while corporations go on forever.

Where is the fairness for seniors, for our youth, for our families, and for small businesses? Not in this partisan tax bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge House Republicans to put aside partisan politics and pass the Dream Act.

This fall, I have shared story after story from the House floor of young Oregonians who have benefited from DACA. Sitting at this desk behind me is a discharge petition which will bring a vote on the Dream Act now.

Unfortunately, this will require 24 of my Republican colleagues to join us in support. As of today, we only have two. This is despite the fact, if leadership put that bill on the floor, it would have overwhelming bipartisan support. We must act on this.

It is clear that the administration is, at best, problematic. When asked about the status of DACA, this President said: They shouldn't be very worried; I have got a big heart. But it was only a few short months later that he announced an end to the DACA program.

The Dream Act must be passed by Christmas. We should do it today. Continuing to delay a vote on the Dream Act basically puts 800,000 recipients at risk, is irresponsible, and puts those lives in limbo.

These young folks are doctors and teachers. The path forward is foggy, at best, right now. They deserve a better future. Let's vote now.

Mr. Speaker, a $1.5 trillion deficit, that is what the so-called fiscally conservative Republican friends of mine want to add to our Nation's already huge debt, a debt they decried for many years, a debt that, according to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Mike Mullen, is the greatest threat to our country in the coming decades.

There is really no need of that--none. We can do tax reform that better advantages the middle class and small businesses without adding $1.5 trillion to our debt. By simply making the tax benefits fairer among income groups, you can have growth-enhancing, deficit-neutral tax reform with zero--yes, zero--addition to our debt and deficit.

If a 25 percent tax rate is good enough for small businesses, it should be good enough for corporations.

There is no need to eliminate the AMT for wealthy Americans earning over $250,000 or completely eliminating the estate tax. Tweak it, and you can protect every small business and farm in America with a very progressive Tax Code.

Why should wealthy Americans get to deduct more expenses than working men and women? A 25 percent deduction for expenses levels the playing field for everyone.

Make these types of changes and you can get rid of the gimmicks in the Republican bill and benefit the middle class. There is no need to add $1.5 trillion to our debt.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Hugo from Salem, Oregon, and I continue to urge Speaker Ryan to put forth a clean Dream Act.

Hugo is an undocumented Oregonian originally from Veracruz, Mexico. His only memory of Mexico is saying good-bye to his parents as a child before leaving for Salem.

In high school, Hugo played football, he was a JROTC commander, a youth police cadet, and a firefighter explorer. He quickly moved from ESL into honors classes, and graduated at the top of his class. Hugo earned the privilege of delivering the commencement speech at his graduation.

All of this, along with his dedication to community service, led to the city of Salem recognizing Hugo as Youth of the Year.

Because of Hugo's immigration status, however, after leaving high school, his only job was a field hand. That is until DACA.

Hugo was able to enroll at the University of Oregon, working multiple jobs to pay for his tuition, and earned his bachelor's degree in economics. He now works as a banker, and volunteers as a teacher in financial literacy for families. But in 10 months, his work permit will expire.

Mr. Speaker, let's protect 800,000 DACA recipients across this country, like Hugo.

Mr. Speaker, $1.5 trillion--no, I guess it is actually closer to $2.3 trillion with interest--that is the amount this partisan tax reform plan plans to add to our debt and deficit.

I have had a few folks say: ``Well, we have had $10 trillion added to the debt over the last 8 years.'' With all due respect, Republicans controlled Congress during 6 of those 8 years.

Where are my conservative Republican friends who railed for 8 years on the deficits? Was that just while a Democrat was in the White House? Are we such shallow, political, hypocritical people that we now ignore the greatest threat to our country, our national debt and deficit, just because a Republican is in the Oval Office?

Furthermore, the idea that we will grow our way out of that $2 trillion hole is fantasy. Let's look at the growth rate after the last big tax cut at the end of 2015.

Since we have passed that tax cut, the growth rate remains steady at 1.5 to 2 percent, no change, that huge tax cut financed with $650 billion in debt to our kids.

The Wharton School of Business, not exactly a liberal bastion of theology, now estimates that growth factor from this tax reform bill to be less than 1 percent.

Let's get real. Vote against this package. Let's do real tax reform that is deficit neutral at least--for our kids' sake.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Marco, a DREAMer in Portland, Oregon, and to continue to urge Speaker Ryan to put forth a clean Dream Act bill.

In 1995, Marco was brought to the United States when he was only 3 years old. As a teenager with dreams of going to college, Marco realized he didn't qualify for financial aid because of his immigration status, but he did not allow this to deter him. Instead, Marco worked hard in various minimum wage jobs, allowing him the ability to attend college part-time.

In 2012, after applying for DACA, Marco was granted a work permit, making it possible for him to earn a job with a law firm in Portland, where he worked his way up from the mailroom to be a legal assistant. His salary from the law firm enabled him to enroll in more classes and finally complete his bachelor's degree in accounting.

Marco now works as an accountant for an Oregon nonprofit that helps benefit youth.

This President claims to want only the best. I have news for him: we already have the best and brightest, and it is time we stopped treating them like second class citizens.

Mr. Speaker, we need to pass a clean Dream Act bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle released their fiscally irresponsible tax bill.

I am still reading my way through the 492-page proposal, but it doesn't take long to notice a huge flaw in the process: the majority is using the partisan budget reconciliation process, a process traditionally reserved for deficit reduction, to add over $1.5 trillion to the deficit and jam a reckless bill through the House without hearings, study, or debate. We don't have to operate that way.

Let's compare where we were the last time Congress reformed the Tax Code in 1986 to where we are today.

When Congress last took up this monumental task, it took over 2 years. There were 4 months of public hearings, more than 450 witnesses, 26 days of markup, and months of debate. This wasn't easy, but what did we get?

We got a simplified Tax Code that did not add to the deficit and a bill that had broad bipartisan support in the House and the Senate, and the support of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, let's work together on a bipartisan basis. Let's reform the Tax Code in a way that helps the middle class and does not add to our children's deficit in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Juan Navarro in Monmouth, Oregon, and to continue to urge Speaker Ryan to put forth a clean Dream Act bill.

Juan was brought to the United States, when he was 3 years old, from Guadalajara, Mexico. Juan suffers from cerebral palsy and was unable to walk. Juan was admitted as a research patient in Shriners Hospital, and after multiple surgeries and 12 long years of physical therapy, Juan now is able to walk without any support.

While Juan was receiving care, his parents had to work two jobs, something we all used to do. They did this to provide a better life for Juan.

Over time, Juan excelled in school, and Oregon became his home.

Juan is an active member in the Monmouth and Western Oregon University communities. He serves as a diversity student mentor, works with the faculty at Western Oregon to create a campus website that lists available resources for undocumented students, works for the city of Monmouth as a community liaison, and started a support group for DREAMers at Western Oregon University.

Juan is the first person in his family to graduate from college and is currently attending graduate school at Oregon State University's College Student Services Administration program. He currently works as a graduate assistant and hopes to bring more institutional changes for students of color.

Without DACA, none of this would have been possible for Juan, and our country would have lost out on a motivated and talented person.

Young people across the country are relying on us. We need to pass a clean Dream Act that will recognize Juan and the over 800,000 DREAMers as equal members of our community.

Mr. Chairman, this fire season has put the need for real forest management in stark relief for those of us who live out West.

The current laissez-faire forest policy, with random desperate measures to fight increasingly horrific fires that threaten and destroy rural and now--as we have seen in California--suburban communities is completely inadequate and increasingly costly to the taxpayer.

This bill, contrary to what some have said, rewards communities that have proactive, collaborative programs; stewardship programs; rural advisory committees; and wildfire protection plans to manage their forests without redundant NEPA processes.

A few thousand acres out of the millions acres of Federal forest land are now going to be enabled to be managed for wildlife successional forest habitat; removal of dangerous roadside and infrastructure threatening vegetation; insect and disease infestations; reducing hazardous fuel in the forests; and,

frankly, doing a little reforesting of salvage projects, which should have been allowed years ago.

We also pilot a few arbitration projects to stop the endless frivolous litigation of every single forest project, at least in Oregon, and I think elsewhere.

SRS payments continue to rural communities whose way of life has been, basically, taken away from them by the endless frivolous litigation in our Federal forests. Counties, for the first time, get some revenue from the very stewardship contracts that we want to encourage, but not at the expense of rural communities' economic health.

Many are still stuck in the recession, and this bill is critical to their revival. Oregon counties in the Oregon and California railroad areas also get the opportunity to be made whole again, like the original statute said.

I think it is important to note for a lot of our friends out there that the current regional forest plans still apply and are not undermined. We just give flexibility to the Forest Service folks within the regions to do what they think needs to be done to keep those forests healthy. We empower good management.

For those of you who are interested in innovation, this bill actually calls out cross-laminated timber and other thoughtful uses of forests and timber that can bring environmental and timber groups together like it should be in the 21st century.

Finally, most important of all for some folks, we actually get wildfire disaster funding included as a reasonable topic of conversation and get out of the current fire-borrowing policy that is preventing the Forest Service and BLM from doing good forest management to prevent those fires in the first place.

On balance, frankly, this is a very good bill and it is much-needed at this time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives DeFazio and Panetta, for offering this amendment with me today. I think it is one of the important changes we can make that will help improve the Resilient Federal Forests Act.

Collaborative forest management activities and categorical exclusions are an important tool in forest management and are designed to help the Forest Service and BLM speed the ability of those agencies to get into areas more quickly to improve forest health.

I believe the use of categorical exclusion should be reserved for reducing hazardous fuel loads, addressing disease and insect infestation, protecting water resources or increasing water yield, and maintaining or enhancing critical habitat. That makes sense. All these activities are very appropriate as designated activities for categorical exclusions.

Listing timber production as a designated activity, I believe, does not work in this context. Timber is a byproduct of all those activities. Therefore, it is unnecessary to actually include it as a specific designated activity.

Our amendment simply strikes timber production from the list of designated activities for categorical exclusion under section 111. It is a pretty clear-cut issue, in my book.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the chairman and Mr. Westerman for the bill and being congenial and good folks to work with for a bipartisan piece of legislation we desperately need.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the House Paper and Packaging Caucus, I rise today to recognize the 57th anniversary of National Forest Products Week.

As an Oregonian, this week takes on special significance for me and my constituents. Oregon is home to over 174 wood products, paper, and packaging manufacturing facilities that make nearly $11 billion in products annually and contribute over $2 billion to the State and local economies through wages and compensation.

I would like to recognize and thank the nearly 38,000 hardworking men and women employed by the forest products industry in my State. Your contributions to our State and your local communities are greatly appreciated.

In this country, we are fortunate to have the renewable natural resources and domestic manufacturing to be able to provide Americans with the paper or packaging tissue and wood products that are central to modern life and the modern economy.

I want to thank and congratulate the people and employees in the forest products industry for the valuable role they play in the economy not only in my State and district, but to rural communities across this country.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 8 years. For 8 years, from the day Barack Obama was sworn in until the day he left office, I heard my Republican colleagues telling me that we weren't paying enough attention to the national debt, that we were mortgaging our children's future, and that we needed to do more to get our debt and deficit under control. Heck, to be honest with you, I agreed with what they were saying.

But now that they are in power--control the Presidency and both Chambers--what are they doing?

Totally ignoring the debt deficit is what they are doing.

Worst yet, actually, the budget of theirs that has just come out adds $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. This is their stated strategy in the budget. This is $1.5 trillion our children and grandchildren need to pay back. I just can't believe it. The hypocrisy is beyond belief.

Apparently, my Republican colleagues are only fiscally conservative when the Democrats are in control.

Let's reject this unconscionable budget and work across the aisle for tax reform that actually improves our children's future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Aldo Solano of Woodburn, Oregon.

Aldo was only 6 years old when his family first immigrated to the United States from Colima, Mexico. Economic distress, corruption, and a lack of opportunities pushed his parents to leave everything behind and head to the Willamette Valley. They wanted a different life for Aldo and his siblings, one where they could go to school and pursue their dreams.

Aldo has done just that. At Woodburn High School, he served as vice president of his class. While earning good grades, he participated in sports and volunteer opportunities like 4-H Latino Summer Camp, encouraging young people to enter the STEM field.

After graduating, Aldo became a DACA recipient. Through DACA, he has been able to work for the Latino Health Coalition, where he worked to pass Cover All Kids, a State law to ensure access to healthcare for every child in Oregon. This winter, he will begin working towards a public health degree at Portland State University.

Without DACA, none of this would have been possible for Aldo. Young people across the country are relying on us. We need to pass a clean Dream Act that will recognize Aldo and over 800,000 DREAMers as equal members of our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Leonardo Reyes of Salem, Oregon, and urge Speaker Ryan to put forth a clean Dream Act bill.

Leo is an undocumented Oregonian. His mother brought Leo and his siblings to Oregon when he was 10 years old. His mother was a victim of domestic violence and felt she needed to get as far away from her husband as possible to keep Leo and his siblings safe. His mother left everything she knew in Mexico in order to pursue a better life for her children.

Leo has attended Davis Elementary School, Reynolds Middle School, McKay High School, graduated from Chemeketa Community College, and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies at Western Oregon University.

He works full-time helping senior citizens and individuals with disabilities access healthcare and food benefits. Additionally, Leo was a cofounder of the Oregon DACA Coalition, which raises awareness in the community by empowering Oregon youth to engage in our democratic process.

Leo considers himself an American, and I do too. He believes that being an American is a set of values and ideals which we all hold dear.

We need to pass a clean Dream Act bill that will recognize Leo and over 800,000 DREAMers as equal members in our community.